Interaction of apelin, elabela and nitric oxide in schizophrenia patients.

BACKGROUND: Apelin (APLN), elabela (ELA), and nitric oxide (NO) have effects on physiological and behavioural properties in biological systems. This study was designed to determine APLN, ELA and NO levels in schizophrenia patients and assess whether these molecules are of diagnostic value. METHODS: A total of 33 schizophrenic patients and 32 ageand sex-adjusted healthy participants were included in the study. ELA, APLN and NO levels were measured using ELISA methods. RESULTS: Although the ELA and NO levels of the patients were lower than the control group, APLN levels were higher (p = 0.039, p = 0.019, p = 0.048, respectively). There was a significant negative correlation between APLN levels and triglyceride (TG) and body mass index (BMI) levels (r = -0.426, p = < 0.001 and r = -0.330, p = 0.007, respectively). Respectively, the areas under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the ELA/APLN, ELA/NO and APLN/NO ratios were 0.628, 0.590 and 0.709, 95% confident intervals (CI): 0.491-0.764, 0.450-0.730 and 0.579-0.840. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased levels of ELA and NO and increased APLN levels in schizophrenia suggest that these molecules may be involved in its etiopathology. The APLN/NO ratio also seems to show promise in the diagnosis of the disease and may be used in future.

A Novel Biomarker Renalase and Its Relationship with its Substrates in Schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia, particularly the form related to excessive dopamine (DA), is a chronic psychotic disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. Renalase metabolizes its catecholamine (CA) substrates, including DA, suggesting that there might be an association between renalase levels and schizophrenia occurrence. Therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate the renalase and CA levels in the serum of patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: The study was conducted with thirty-three schizophrenia patients and an age- and gender-matched group of thirty-one controls. Renalase and CA levels were measured by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Renalase levels were significantly lower in the schizophrenia patients than in the control group (p<0.05), whereas DA levels were significantly higher (p<0.05). The epinephrine (Epi) levels of both groups were similar (p=0.186), while the norepinephrine levels in patients with schizophrenia were significantly lower than those in the control group (p<0.05). The areas under the curves for the renalase-dopamine, renalase-norepinephrine and renalase-epinephrine ratios were 0.805, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.699-0.912 (p<0.001); 0.726, 95% CI: 0.594-0.859 (p=0.032); and 0.656, 95% CI: 0.520-0.791 (p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The high DA levels in patients with schizophrenia might be due to low renalase levels. Renalase enzyme levels may play a substantial role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Thus, this enzyme might be a new future target for the treatment and diagnosis of schizophrenia after intrabrain renalase and DA dynamics have been further evaluated.

NUCB2/Nesfatin-1 in the Blood and Follicular Fluid in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Poor Ovarian Response.

BACKGROUND: Failure to respond adequately to standard protocols and to recruit adequate follicles is called 'poor ovarian response'. The relationships between metabolic alterations and NUCB2/Nesfatin-1 levels were explored in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection. METHODS: This case-control study involved 20 infertile women with PCOS and 20 control women diagnosed as poor ovarian responders stimulated with a GnRH antagonist. Blood samples were taken during ovum pick-up and follicular fluids (FF) were obtained from a dominant follicle from the subjects. Samples were analyzed by using ELISA. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 20. Data are expressed as means ± standard deviation (SD). RESULTS: Blood NUCB2/Nesfatin-1 levels in PCOS were significantly lower (p= 0.011) while the NUCB2/Nesfatin-1 levels of FF in poor ovarian response (POR) were higher, but not statistically significant. Insulin, total testosterone, fasting glucose, homeostasis model assessment, and insulin resistance index in women with POR decreased when compared with PCOS. Blood NUCB2/Nesfatin-1 levels were significantly higher than FF NUCB2/Nesfatin-1 levels in both groups (p<0.001). Moreover, a positive correlation was detected between blood NUCB2/Nesfatin-1 and testosterone (p=0.602, r=0.304), HOMA-IR (p=0.252, r=0.384), BMI (p=0.880, r= 0.44) in PCOS, but it was not significant. CONCLUSION: NUCB2/Nesfatin-1 levels might be important in follicular growth in PCOS subjects undergoing IVF/ICSI with an antagonist protocol and NUCB2/Nesfatin-1 level could reliably help to predict poor ovarian response.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocal in protein levels as an acute appendicitis biomarker in children.

OBJECTIVE: Appendicitis is very commonly encountered in emergency clinics. There is an urgent need for early and accurate predictive biomarkers of appendicitis in order to save lives, because currently-available biomarkers are imprecise and their delayed response impairs the ability of emergency doctors and pediatric surgeons to provide timely and potentially effective therapies. This study was performed to determine whether changes in the blood levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) can help to diagnose acute appendicitis in children and distinguish acute appendicitis from abdominal pain. METHODS: Sixty children were enrolled and divided into three groups, with 20 patients per group: Group 1 (patients with appendicitis), Group 2 (patients with abdominal pain) and Group 3 (control). Blood NGAL levels were determined by ELISA. RESULTS: The basal average serum NGAL levels were 8.2 ng/ml for Group 1, 3.9 ng/ml for Group 2, and 3.3 ng/ml for Group 3. Twenty-four and 72 h after surgery the levels were 5.1 and 2.8 ng/ml, respectively, in Group 1, 2.9 and 2.8 ng/ml in Group 2, and 2.6, 2.7 ng/ml in Group 3. Setting the cut-off point to 7 generated an area under the receiving operating curve (ROC) curve at 95 % confidence interval with 77.3 % sensitivity and 97.4 % specificity. CONCLUSION: These data indicate a significant difference in NGAL values between basal and postoperative measurements in appendicitis patients (p < 0.05). The ROC curve results showed that NGAL is a promising novel biomarker for the differential diagnosis of acute appendicitis from abdominal pain.